Josh Spires, from the University of Texas, is the Americas Region Winner for the 2011 Kodak Film School Cinematography Competition.
Spires' film, The Whale, follows a young boy who lives in an ephemeral fantasy to try and escape the cycle of paternal abuse.

Film-making

 "Cinematography is all about storytelling. All the way, 100%. If telling a story is your one true goal as cinematographer, everything else will follow. The light and glass and stock one uses are only means to an end, which should be a story worth telling."

Johannes Praus, from the University of Film & Television "Konrad Wolf" Potsdam, is the Europe-Africa-Middle East Region Winner for the 2011 Kodak Film School Cinematography Competition.

Submerged / Opfer Synopsis

Thomas has a new house, a grilfriend and a baby. He’s hosting a party for some friends. But then his girlfriend’s daughter brings her new boyfriend home. And he seems to be just the kind of guy this gated community was designed to be protected from.

Wes Bentley and Ana Seradilla (Photo: Christopher Chomyn)

Hidden Moon is Chris Chomyn’s second feature with director-writer-producer Jose “Pepe” Bojorquez. The two previously collaborated on Sea of Dreams in 2006.

“Our collaboration begins early in the project,” says Chomyn. “Often, I am privileged to read several early drafts of the script, and to discuss the themes and characters with Pepe as he is polishing the details. This affords me the opportunity to begin thinking in visual terms very early in the process. By the time we are ready to officially begin pre-production, we have established a working shorthand, and an understanding of the material as well as of the subtext.”

Caption

More than 500 guests including representatives from production houses, advertising agencies, media and academic circles, critics and filmmakers packed into the CinemaPRO in Bucharest, capital of Romania, at the end of September to watch a screening of 17 short films, including the first Romanian 3-D short feature film, created by young Romanian filmmaking students. The filmmakers had created their films under the auspices of the Medialab project.

This project first began in 2009 and is co-funded by the European Social Fund Operational Program for Human Resources Development. It is designed to provide a transition from a learning environment to the world of work. The Medialab project was coordinated by young director Catalin Saizescu. Catalin was responsible for transforming what had hitherto been a largely academic and theoretical project into a much more practical one by bringing students and filmmaking professionals together in a collaborative environment.